Judge frees robbery defendant on reading and writing conditions

Richmond
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A California Federal Judge has released a robbery defendant and alleged arms dealer on bail while awaiting trial on the condition that he makes an effort to become more literate.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers allowed Otis Mobley Jr., 23, of Richmond, CA, to go free on a $150,000 bond subject to him spending one hour a day reading a book and half an hour writing a report on the material read. According to MercuryNews, the court document states that, while out of custody, Otis Mobley "must read for at least one hour every day, and must write reports on those books for at least 30 minutes every day,"

Mr. Mobley has a bad record. He is considered a violent man. He admitted to killing a man in 2009, but he was not charged because prosecutors believed his claim of self-defence. He is now in trouble again charged with the attempted robbery of an undercover agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to whom he and two partners were trying to sell a grenade launcher for US$1000, reports Huffingtonpost.com.

Prosecutors are not impressed. They claim that Otis Mobley cannot be trusted and he constitutes a flight risk due to the nature of the weapons violation, his substance abuse problems and less than impeccable background.

Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers defends her decision and said she will assemble a reading list for Otis, according to SFGate.com. However it is not clear if Otis’ report writing will be reviewed and assessed for literary merit.